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Book tours and research provide a lot of travel – too much, I sometimes think, but we do take vacations.

Bernard Cornwell

What I mean by that is that the point of life, as I see it, is not to write books or scale mountains or sail oceans, but to achieve happiness, and preferably an unselfish happiness.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Achieve Funny Inspirational Ocean
Because there could not be peace, not while two tribes shared one land. One tribe must win.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Change Land War Winning
Because there could not be peace, not while two tribes shared one land. One tribe must win. Even the nailed god cannot change that truth. And I was a warrior, and in a world at war the warrior must be cruel.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Change Land Tribe War Winning
Then you start another book and suddenly the galley proofs of the last one come in and you have to wrench your attention away from what you’re writing and try to remember what you were thinking when you wrote the previous one.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Attention Book Proof Thinking Writing
Only a fool wants war, but once a war starts then it cannot be fought half-heartedly. It cannot even be fought with regret, but must be waged with a savage joy in defeating the enemy, and it is that savage joy that inspires our bards to write their greatest songs about love and war.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Fool Love Regret Savage Song Start
Pride makes a man, it drives him, it is the shield wall around his reputation… Men die, they said, but reputation does not die.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Men Pride Reputation Wall
The only mercy of children is that they grow up, as my son has but then, tragically, they beget more children. We do not learn life’s lessons.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Beget Children Lesson Mercy Son Tragically
We discover that it is all an illusion and nothing is there. Lust is a voyage to nowhere, to an empty land, but some men just love such voyages and never care about the destination. Love is a voyage too, a voyage with no destination except death, but a voyage of bliss.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Destination Love Lust Men Such Voyage
So far it’s 43 books in 25 years.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Book Far Years
We make children and wealth and amass land and build halls and assemble armies and give great feasts, but only one thing survives us. Reputation.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Amass Army Children Feasts Land
But when you have order, you don’t need Gods. When everything is well ordered and disciplined then nothing is unexpected.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Dark Order Powerful
Research is a lifelong occupation so it’s hard to factor it in, but I reckon most books take 5 months from start to finish.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Book Finish Months Research
Television is a young person’s medium.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Mediums Person Television Young
Even the nailed god cannot change that truth. And I was a warrior, and in a world at war the warrior must be cruel.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Change Cruel Nailed Truth Warrior
The existence of tricks does not imply the absence of magic.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Absence Imply Magic Trick
Life is a jest of the Gods and there is no justice. You must learn to laugh… or else you’ll weep yourself to death.
BERNARD CORNWELL

Death Jest Justice Laughing Life

Book tours and research provide a lot of travel – too much, I sometimes think, but we do take vacations.

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Book tours and research provide a lot of travel – too much, I sometimes think, but we do take vacations.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Bernard Cornwell Quotes